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User blog:Pinkguy the b0ss/Donkey Kong Country 3 Review (GBA)
What's up my Shreks, it's ya boi DiamondMinerStudios here, back for another video game review. This time, I'm finally here to cover the remake of Donkey Kong Country 3 for the Game Boy Advance. A while ago, I played and reviewed the GBA remakes of the first two Donkey Kong Country games. While I consider them more flawed than the masterful SNES originals, I still thought that they were great in their own right and worthy remakes of the originals. As for the third game, let's just say my impressions of the SNES version are... more on the negative side. While the game has its high points, it is heavily flawed and it just seems to get worse every time I play it (and the more I play the other two). Playing DKC3 on the SNES just makes me wish I was playing DKC1, DKC2, or any of my other favorite games, and I honestly don't like it very much. Now, on to the GBA version, which is what we're discussing today. I promised a review of this particular game several months ago now, and now since I've beaten this version, I can finally follow up on that promise. So, what did I think of this version? Do I think the GBA version is superior to the original, or do I think the whole trilogy is better experienced on the SNES? Let's find out. Story As usual, there's not too much to discuss here, as this game has the same plot as the original. However, one thing that's weird is that there is no introductory cutscene like the other GBA remakes. It simply starts with Dixie jumping into the map, just like the original. This makes plot details ambiguous, but since this isn't a story-driven game I can let it pass. The story itself also does the job of a platformer plot - contextualizing the gameplay and giving your quest some kind of meaning - well enough. Graphics This is an interesting one. Whereas the DKC1 and DKC2 GBA remakes and the Super Mario Advance games have significant color differences from the originals and look inferior in comparison, this game has pretty much no color difference from the SNES version. Given the limited pallette of the GBA, that's a testament to how colorless, bland, and visually unengaging the original was... and even then, it seems more colorful than the original. If I'm being honest, I slightly prefer the GBA version's visuals simply because of the seemingly greater amount of color. Soundtrack This also makes the game unique from the other two GBA remakes. Instead of having a remix of the SNES OST, the GBA version of DKC3 features a completely original soundtrack to the SNES version. Again, to be honest, I prefer this to the SNES OST for the most part. While it was good, the SNES soundtrack largely consisted of moody and dark songs, something that wasn't the best fit for the tone of the DKC universe. The GBA OST, however, features more upbeat and memorable tracks. Some of the best songs include Jungle Jitters, Rockface Rumble, Pokey Pipes, Nuts and Bolts, and Water World. Overall, this is definitely my favorite soundtrack of the two versions, even if it's missing some of my favorite tracks from the SNES version (like Cascade Capers). Gameplay The gameplay is, somehow, a MASSIVE improvement. The controls feel like practically identical to the original game, if not slightly better, and are the best of the three remakes. It also carries over the superior controls of the animal buddies from the previous remakes. The level design also remains mostly the same as the original, which is expected. Unfortunately, this still means that after a certain point, the game still gets more mixed in the quality of the level design. However, it seems far more consistent than the SNES version. I don't know what it is, it just feels this way. It probably has something to do with the better horizontal visibility due to the smaller sprite size, but there seems to be a few subtle changes that make the game far more enjoyable to play. But that's still not all of the gameplay advantages of this remake. Yet another point to the GBA version is the addition of a brand new world - Pacifica. It features six new levels, with the Barbos boss being moved here and a new boss - Croctopus - being added to Razor Ridge. It's not perfect, and I'll discuss that shortly, but I still consider Pacifica a major plus for the GBA version. Difficulty Similarly to the previous two DKC remakes, the game makes several changes to the difficulty. Unlike those remakes, however, and more similarly to the Super Mario Advance games, these changes improve upon the original version. For one, you can now save from the map screen at any time. This isn't a huge improvement, as you could just leave a world and backtrack to the first Wrinkly's Save Cave in the game to save, but I still appreciate the extra convenience. In addition, several levels like Lightning Lookout and Koindozer Klamber - levels I absolutely despised in the original - have somehow become much more manageable in the remake and are actually playable this time. I actually managed to beat both on my first try, although that may be because I somewhat know how to avoid the bullshit at this point. Who knows. However, it's still imperfect. There are a few levels I'm still not a fan of, like the toboggan levels. In addition, two levels in Pacifica - Ripcurl Reef and Surf's Up - suck almost as hard as Koindozer Klamber in the SNES original. Surf's Up is a toboggan level, with particularly annoying enemy placement that is a pain in the ass to dodge since the toboggan has more floaty physics than the original, making it much more difficult to control. Ripcurl Reef actually thought it would be a good idea to use a wind setpiece... underwater. I actually find Ripcurl Reef much more frustrating than Squawks' section of Animal Antics, if you can believe it. Even in the face of these issues, I still find the GBA version of DKC3 to be at least a decent game, but I can't ignore all of these problems it unfortunately has. Conclusion Overall, DKC3 GBA turned out better than I expected it to, considering how I don't like the SNES version. It's far from perfect, and I can't call it much better than decent, but I nonetheless found it to be WAY more enjoyable than the SNES version. Still, it's probably the weakest of the GBA trilogy based on the fundamental level design and some instances where the game feels unfinished, like in the lack of an intro cutscene and an end-credits enemy rollcall. While it still has its fair share of flaws and feels like less effort may have been put into it than the other two remakes, DKC3 GBA is my preferred version of the game, and one I'll come back to much more often. If I ever play Donkey Kong Country 3 again, this is the version I'll play. As for what comes next... I'm not too sure. Probably Spyro 1, the original Crash Trilogy, Super Mario Advance, or the original Ratchet and Clank Trilogy. Whatever it is, I'll see you all next time. Category:Blog posts